One of my favourite songs of all time is ‘Fire Away’ from Dawes’ previous album, Nothing Is Wrong. I’ve listened to it countless times and it was one of the theme songs of my trip to the Deep South of America last year. Despite this, I am familiar with perhaps only one other song on Nothing Is Wrong (which I have listened to plenty of times) because the rest of the album is so unremarkable that nothing sticks. Unfortunately, Stories Don’t End suffers from the same problem – there are a few wonderful, bright sparks on the album but the rest registers as little more than white noise.
‘Just My Luck’ is a perfect example of Dawes’ problem. The song is a well-constructed 70s-influenced folky ballad, which is typical Dawes territory, but the tale of lost love fails to tug at any heart strings as it trundles along without dynamics or variation. ‘Someone Will’ is less drudging with its bright, Simon & Garfunkel feel, and beautiful muted guitar tone on the lead break, but it also never lifts above a gentle hum.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jFylbo23T4
The best songs on Stories Don’t End are those with the most energy and that differ most from the others. ‘Most People’ has a more urgent tempo and a glorious, harmonic hook in the chorus that shows how great Dawes can be when all their talents come together and they sound like they care. The other standout track is ‘Hey Lover’, which has a really loose, relaxed feel (despite its faster tempo), like it might go off the rails at any point. The lyrics also make a change from the usual ponderings on sad girls from LA, as singer Taylor Goldsmith instead applies a faint glimmer of humour to his fears of growing old and unattractive but still needing to impress the coolest girl in the room.
Stories Don’t End isn’t a bad album and has some great, soaring moments. Repeat listens reveal the complex, layered production that creates Dawes’ low-key, stylised sound; however, when they so frequently tread a fine line between subtle and boring, it’s too often that Stories Don’t End falls on the wrong side.
6/10
Reviewer: Frances Bulley